One Area San Francisco 49ers Must Focus On Against Houston Texans

By Michael Terrill

Scott Rovak-USA TODAY Sports

The San Francisco 49ers will be looking for their first back-to-back win of the season when they take on the Houston Texans Sunday night. Obviously, the Texans are a very talented offensive team, which means the defense will have to be on their toes. With that being said, what is one specific area San Francisco must focus on in order to defeat Houston in Week 5?

Everyone is aware of Texans running back Arian Foster’s capabilities. However, what many people may not realize, unless they have Foster on their fantasy team, is that running back Ben Tate has been equally as fantastic this season. The two-headed monster that is Houston’s running game is something that is definitely a legitimate concern for San Francisco, especially since they have allowed 109.3 rushing yards per game through their first four contests.

“It’s going to be important for us up front to stay on our blocks, keep our feet out of that stuff, stay up so there’s no cut-back lanes and tackle these two running backs,” defensive lineman Justin Smith said, according to 49ers.com. “They got two really good ones.”

The good news is the 49ers have been very good at stopping the pass this season, which means if they are able to contain Matt Shaub’s arm then they will be able to focus mainly on the run. However, if the Texans’ rushing attack does get out of control then it could open up a world of pain for the 49ers.

“They marry everything together in the running game and the passing game off their play-action,” defensive coordinator Vic Fangio told 49ers.com. “And they’re one of the few teams, too, that still has a very good drop back passing game on the early downs, too. So it’s not all play-action.

“They have a very tough offense to defend.”

It will certainly be interesting to see if San Francisco can contain Foster and Tate in front of a national television audience.